Ignition timer



' May 9, 1944. I J. L. ARTHUR IGNITION TIMER Filed 28. 1941 INVENTORdiv/v15: L Arr/10R I s ATTORNEYS Patented May 9,1944 i UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE IS'iNITION TIMER James L. Arthur, Anderson, Ind., assiznorto General Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of DelawareApplication August 28, 1941, Serial No. 408,571

10 Claims. (Cl. 200-31) This invention relates to ignition timers forinwhich tends to urge the movable center bearing ternal combustionengines and more particularly member axially relativeto the stationarycenter to the type of timer having automatic means rebearing memberwhile at the same time allowing sponsive to engine intake suction forvarying the freedom of movement rotatively between the ignition timer.center bearing member without introducing un- An ignition timer adaptedfor automatic condue friction.

trol in response to variations of engine intake By resiliently urgingthe movable center. bearsuction is generally provided with a circuitbreakings axially relative to' the stationary center or supporting platewhich is adjustable by sue-a bearing the movable plate is caused to bearretion responsive means about an axis concentric l ii m y inthe ti n ryp a r y mwith the axis of rotation of the ignition timer viding freedomof movement between the plates cum. In producing an ignition timer whichwill not withstanding he existence of slight irr ll have thi feature, thproblem, ha been that r larities in the contacting euriaces oi movableproviding a suitable bearing for the adjustable stationery plates at theperipheral portions of breaker plate which will maintain concentricitythese p with respect to the timer cam while at the some F objects d dv ie i e present time providing freedom of movement. It is an Milieu-flan we apparent from the followin object of the invention to provide'asolution to vll p m to the accompem this problem by means of a simpleconstruction e Whwi'fiiii c odiment of which is durable which can bemanufactured lie the present invention 37 c e r n economically, thedrawin in the disclosed embodiment of the invention i s u view oi timerem ot v e ore accomplish this object by providing within. the o a 2 asectional view on the lip.

timer housing a stationary plate extending in a plane at right singlesto the axle of rotation of 2 timer cam and having a central bearingwhose axis is concentric with the axis oi rotation 61 of he timer'lli'ie bearing" of the station 1 plate receives a tubular hearingattached to center of circuit breaker plate, The wi of the attached tothe cireuit brook 21* ,1 is greater than, the width oi the hearing S,oyovideci at "the center of the stationary plate so looiune dire topermit a slight relative movement between I the bearing parts axiallythereof. A device which is located between the stationary plates andhearing" sleeve attached to the movable plate driven. y the tends tourge the movable bearing axially relative tectively supports a e: whim:is chillingly to the stationary bearing in such direction cc toeonnectecl with the shaft by eoeerl reopen urge the movable platetowards the stationary sive device fi l which varies the relation.between plate; However, the movable plate does not come the cam theengine driven 2 in re tact all portions oi the stationary plate but onlyspouse the variations in engine speed. The t th p n of Support Providedy three cam 23 supports i'tlfld th ives oietrliouior rotor 0 is asectional view on lin is a sectional view taken on the line Alma spacedbosses engaged by portions of the mov carrying a conducting member (notshown) for eble Plate near the periphery thereof. In other distributingsparking impulses to terminals (not words the movable plate is supportedby the stashown) supported by e distributor cover 26.

tionary plate at three points of support located The timer housing ansupports therein a sta near the periphery of the movable plate so as totiouary plate or platform 21! at three points two produce a supportwithout introducing friction in of which are diametrically opposite eachother. amounts such as would interfere with the func- The plate 21 issuitably euppormol within the tioning oi the engine suction responsivemeans housing til by suitable devices 29. This is acwhich automaticallyrotates the plate in response complisheol by providing the plate 21 withears to variations in engine suction. The movable 28 which are adaptedto receive a free end of a plate is resiliently urged against the threepoints screw 29. The screw also secures brackets 88 on of supp r y aorrugated spring metal washer 6 the outside oi the housing it which haveopene ings thru which the screws 23 project. These brackets hingediysupport distributor cap clamps 31 which secure the distributor cover orcap 23 flrmly upon the top of the housing 23. The plate 21 is alsosecured at a third point within the.

housing 23 by a screw 32 extending thru the housing and having screwthreaded engagement with an ear 33 on the plate 21.

The stationary plate or platform 21 is provided with a central openingdefined by a flange 34 provided with a bearing surface concentric withthe bearing 2 I. The plate 21 is deformed to provide an annular groove33 between the flange 34 and a shoulder 33 which marks an off-setbetween essential and peripheral portions of the plate 21. In Fig. 1 theshoulder 33 is indicated by the dash-line circle. The groove 33 receivesa felt washer 31 which when saturated with lubricating oil will besubstantially flush with the top surface of the flange 34.

The center bearing flange 34 provides a journal for a rotary centerbearing 43 having a width substantially greater than the width oi thestationary bearing 34, this width being the distance between a flange 4|of the bearing 43 and a shoulder 42 against which a movable plate 43bears when the plate 43 and bearing 43 are assembled. However, beforethese parts are assembled there is placed around the bearing 43 acorrugated washer 44 ofthin resilient metal preferably spring steelhaving a non-stressed width substantially greater than the distancebetween the flange 4| and the plate 21 when assembled as shown in Fig.2. After the washer 44 has been placed around the bearing 43 the bearing43 is placed thru the bearing 34 also thru a central opening in movableplate 43 until the latter rests upon the shoulder 42 of thebearing 43.While the bearing 43 is supported with its flange 4| resting upon afixed supporting block the upper edge portion of the bearing 43 isswedged over as indicated at 43 to secure the plate 43 to the bearing43. The operation of swedging the edge 43 against the plate 43 causesthe spring washer '44 to be compressed so that it is caused resilientlyto urge the bearing flange 4| downwardly as viewed in Fig. 2 in order tocause the plate 43 to be urgeddownwardly against bosses 43, 41, and 43provided by the plate 21 and extending a slight distance above theperipheral portion of the plate to the extent of something like .010".It is to be understood that the bosses 43, 41 and 43 could be providedby the plate 43.

Thus the plate 43 is caused to bear resiliently upon the bosses 43, 41and 43 by the resiliently urged spring washer which urges the bearing 43downwardly with respect to the bearing flange 34. However, there arespaces between the upper edge of the flange 34 of the plane surface ofthe plate 43 so that the lower surface of the plate 43 does not touchthe plate 41 except at the bearing bosses.

The plate 43 is supported by plate 21 in a manner affording greaterstability since the plate 21 provides a three point support for theplate 43 said point support being near the periphery of the plate 43thereby resisting any tendency of the movable bearing 43 to wobble orsway with respect to the stationary bearing 34. Lost motion between thebearing 34 and 43 is taken up by the resilient washer 44 which causespressure to be applied resiliently upon the bearing bosses 43, 41 and43. Therefore as the plate 43 slides across these bosses the frictionalresistance will not become excessive altho there may be slight irregu- 75 larities in the contacting surfaces of the plate 43 and the bosses 43,41 and 43. The oil saturated felt washer 31 provides lubrication betweenbearings 34 and 43 and also at the plate receiving bosses, 41 and 43.

After the assembly of plates and bearings has been made in the mannerdescribed the assembly is mounted within the timer housing thru the useof screws 23 and 32. The circuit breaker comprises a movable contact 33engageabie with a stationary contact 31. The movable contact 33 is flxedto the free end of a circuit breaker lever 32 having an insulating hub33 mounted on a pivoted stud 34 tilted 'to the plate 43. The stationarycontact II is attached to an ear 53 of the bracket 33. This bracket ispivoted on the stud 34 and is secured to the plate 43 by a screw 31extending thru an arcuate slot 33 provided in the bracket 33. The screw31 has threaded engagement with a tapped hole provided by the plate 43.The bracket 33 may be turned about its pivot by an eccentric 33 theshank of which is pivotally mounted in the plate 43 (Fig. 4). Bracket 33has an ear 33 upon which is mounted the free end of a spring H, the ear33 supports an insulating block 32 to which the free end of the spring3] is secured by a screw 34 and a nut 33. The other end of the spring 3!is attached to ears 33 together with a rubbing block 31 which is urgedtoward the cam 23 by the spring 3|.

The screw 34 and the nut 33 also secure to the block 32 a terminal clip1| attached to a wire 12 which is electrically connected with a foil ofthe condenser 13. The condenser 13 is attached to the plate 43 by abracket 13 which is secured to the plate 43 by a screw13, one foil ofthe condenser is grounded to the plate 43 thru the condenser casing 13and a bracket 15 to the plat 43.

A terminal clip 11 is also attached to the block 32 by the bolt 34 andthe nut 33 having a wire 13 passing thru a bracket 13 attached to theplate 43. The end of the wire 13 has a clip 13a electrically connectedto an insulating terminal 33. This terminal is insulatingly supported bythe housing 23 by an insulating washer 3l having a projection 32extending into an opening 33 in the housing 23. An insulating washer 33having a projection 33 projects into the opening 33 and abuts theprojection 32 of the washer 3|. The projections 32 and 33 insulatinglysupport the terminal 33 from the housing 23. The washer 33 is providedwith an extension 31 which projects downwardly into a slot 33 in theplate 21. A nut 33 cooperates with the terminal 33 to secure the wireterminal clip 13 and also to clamp the insulating washers 3| and 33against opposite sides of the wall of the housing 23. The washer 3| ismounted around the knurled portion 33 of the terminal 33 so that. afterthe nut 33 is tightened rotation of the terminal 33 is effectivelyresisted. Therefore a screw 3| used to attach a wire to the terminal 33.can be turned, but the terminal 33 will not be rotated.

In order that the plate 43 may be turned relative to the housing 23without hindrance by reason of electric connections, wire 13 connectingthe spring 3| with the terminal 33 is provided with a certain amount ofslack. Therefore this wire is supported intermediate its end by thebracket 13 attached to plate 43. The plate 43 is rotated by a suctionresponsive device I33 comprising a housing made up of shells IM and I32having their peripheries clamped together and against a diaphragm I33.The diaphragm is connected with one code! a link llll by rivet I" theother end of the link is attached to a boltllli which is non-rotatablyattached. to the plate 43 (Fig. 3). The lower end of the'bolt I08extends into an arcuate opening III! to permit rotative movement oi! theplate 43 relative to the plate 21. A screw I08 secures a terminal clipN18 to the bolt I06. The clip I! is electrically connected to a wire H0,This wire is also connected to a clip ill which is soldered to thehousing 20 forming a ground connection between plate 43 and the housing20.

Shell llll supports asleeve H2 carrying a bushing ll: having recessesill to receive a compression spring H disposed between a bushing H3 anda rivet Hi5, The spring H5 urges the dia-m form, it is to be understoodthat other forms might be adopted, all coming within the scope of theclaims which follow.

What is claimed is as follows:

i. In an ignition device for an internal combustion engine having ahousipg; a cam rotatably supported by the housing; a circuit breakeroperated by the cam; and a plate for supporting the circuit breaker, thecombination with said plate, of means laterally supporting the platenear its periphery; means rotatably supporting the plate at its centralportion; and means about the rotatable supporting means resilientlyurging the plate against its peripheral supporting means.

in an igntion device for an internal combustion engine having a housing;a cam rotatably supported by the housing; a circuit breaker oper= atedby the cam; and a plate for supporting the circuit breaker, thecombination with said plate, of a three point support for laterallysupporting the plate near its periphery; means rotatably supporting theplate at its central portion; and means about the rotatable supportingmeans'resiliently urging the plate against the three point supportingmeans.

3. In an ignition device for an internal combustion engine having ahousing; a cam rotatably supported by the housing; a circuit breakeroperated by the cam; and a support assembly for the circuit breaker, thecombination with said support assembly of a pair of relatively movableplates one oi which is fixed relative to the housing means forsupporting the other plate centrally of the fixed plate and permittingrelative angular movement therebetween one of said plates providingbosses engageable with the other plate substantially at its periphery;and resilient means about the supporting means for urging the movableplate toward the fixed plate whereby the movable plate is prevented fromwobblihg relative to the fixed plate.

i. in an ignition device for an internal combustion engine having ahousing; a cam rotatably supported by the housing; a circuit breakeroperated by the cam; and a plate for supporting the circuit breaker, thecombination with said plate, of three bosses provided by a stationaryplate for laterally supporting the circuit breaker plate near itsperiphery, one of the bosses being wider than the other two, said widerboss being portion; and means about the rotatable supporting meansresiliently urging the circuit breaker plate against the three bosses ofthe stationary plate.

5. In an ignition device io r an internal combustion engine having ahousing; a cam rotatably supported by the housing; a circuit breakeroperated by thecam; and a support assembly for the circuit breakercomprising a pair of relatively movable plates, one of which is fixedrelative to the housing, the combination withcsaid support, 01' meansfor supporting the other plate centrally of the fixed plate andpermitting relative angular movement therebetween; bearing means carriedby the fixed plate and engageabie by the movable plate substantially atits periphery; and resilient means interposed between the.

plates for urgingthe movable plate against the bearing means whereby themovable plate is prevented from wobbling relative to the fixed plate.

ii. In an ignition device for an internal combustion engine having ahousing; afpam operated bythe cam; and a movable plate ior supportingthe circuit breaker, the combination with said movable plate, of meanslaterally supporting the plate near its periphery; a stationary bearingspaced from the plate; a bearing sleeve attached to the plate extendingthrough the etationarybearing and having a bearing surface Wider thanthe stationary bearing and having a flange spaced from the stationarybearing: and an undulated annular spring about the sleeve and locatedbetween the flange and the stationary bearing for urging the plateagainst its peripheral supporting means.

7. In an ignition device for an internal cornbustion engine having ahousing; a cam rotatably supported by the housing; a circuit breakeroperated by the cam; and a movable plate tor supporting the circuitbreaker, the combination "with said movable plate, of a stationary platesupported by the housing and having a plurality of spaced bosses forlaterally supporting the mov I able plate; a, flange integral with thestationary plate spaced from the movable plate; a bearing sleeveattached to the movable plate extending through the flange of thestationary plate piv otally securing the movable sleeve to thestationary plate; a flange carried by the movable sleeve spaced from theflange oi the stationary plate; and spring means about the sleeve andinterposed between the flanges for urging the movable plate against thebosses to prevent WOb= bling of the movable plate.

8. In an ignition device for an internal combustion engine having ahousing; a cam rotatably supported by the housing; a circuit breakeroperated by the cam; and a movable plate for supporting the circuitbreaker, the combination With said movable plate, of a stationaryplatform carried by the housing having a plurality of bosses forlaterally supporting the plate near its periphery, and having anintegral flange spaced from the plate; a bearing sleeve attached to theplate extending through the flange, pivotally securing the plate to theplatform, said sleeve having a bearing surface wider than the flange;retaining means including a part of the sleeve and spaced from theflange for maintaining the plate in assembled relation with theplatform; and resilient means about the sleeve and interposed betweenthe retainlng means of the sleeve and the platform for urging the plateagainst the bosses to prevent wobbling of the movable plate.

9. Inan ignition device for an internal combustion engine having ahousing; a cam rotatably supported by the housing; a circuit breakeroperated by the cam; and a plate for supporting the circuit breaker, thecombination with said plate, of a stationary platform having threebosses for laterally supporting the plate near its periphery, one of thebosses being wider than the other two with the wider boss located nearthe circuit breaker, said platform also having an annular bearing flangeat its central portion spaced from the plate; a movable bearing sleeveattached to the plate and extending through the flange and having abearing surface wider than the flange, said sleeve also having alaterally extending rim spaced from the annular bearing flange of theplatform; and resilient means about the sleeve and disposed between therim and the bearing flange for urging the plate against the bosses ofthe platform to prevent wobbllng of the plate.

10. A bearing unit comprising a pair of parallel thin metallic platesone of which is adapted to be fixed. said plates having aligned openingsin the central portions thereof a bearing sleeve extending through theopenings of the plates. said,

of the movable plate; resilient means disposed between the flange andsaid other plate to thus resiliently bias the movable plate against thebosses to prevent the movable plate from 'wobbling; and means foractuating the movable plate. JAMES L. AR'I'I-IUR.

